Boy Soldier
by cah11
Summary: After Voldemore Marks Harry, Dumbledore decideds to keep Harry for his own, and train him to be the Wizarding Worlds savior, to be a killer, to be a soldier, in case Voldemort comes back. Ship will be Harry/ Hermione.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I am not JKR, I am not even female. The characters and canon events do not belong to me, some non-canon events also do not belong to me, but to other fan fic authors, as there are several things I have probably stolen from other stories (consciously or unconsciously) so to those authors who recognize elements from their stories this is not a blatant attempt to steal from you, but an acknowledgement of your great writing, which I use to try to make mine better.**

**P.S.-sorry for the long disclaimer but I wanted to cover all angles.**

**Warning: This story is AU, characters will act OOC, and there may be other warnings latter in other chapters that I will add in as I go. This will be a Harry/Hermione ship. Dumbledore will be manipulative but not evil, from a point of view. May be bashing of some Weasleys, haven't decided yet. I think that pretty much covers everything…**

Cah11 humbly presents:

**Boy Soldier**

**Prologue: The One is Chosen**

It was Halloween, 1981, and silence had fallen upon the town of Godrics Hollow. All the families had finished their trick or treating, so there were few people out in the streets. Suddenly a road that had been vacant had a traveler that seemed to appear from nowhere and nothing. The figure was very oddly dressed in a long cloak, so black it seemed to absorb the little light there was right into the fabric. The figure made no sound as he moved from where he had appeared up the lane toward a specific house that no one should have been able to see.

As the figure walked up to the front step, their hand reached into a pocket in his robe, and withdrew a frail looking piece of wood. Waving the stick in an intricate pattern the figure pointed it at the door; the stick released a bright light that impacted the solid wood of the door, causing it to shatter to splinters. The figure heard a woman's scream and a man yell for her to get out, seconds later there was a flash of green light and the man's voice fell silent. The woman, Lily, cried out in anguish for her husband, who now lay dead at the foot of the stairs. But the vary enchantments they had erected to protect them and their home, now prevented anyone from hearing her calls.

If one could have penetrated the protections surrounding the house, they would have heard Lily begging with her attacker to spare their son, to kill her instead. They would have heard a high clear voice order her to stand aside, or her life was forfeit. They would have heard Lily's last desperate plea with her assailant to have mercy on her son, before the second voice intoned two of the most dreaded words in the magical world "Avada Kadavera." Once again, a flash of green light emanated from the house, this time from a second story window. If one could have pierced the enchantments further and actually entered the house, they would have found the tall figure that had suddenly appeared on the street, staring at a one year old child, who stood in his crib crying, not knowing why his mother was no longer standing, not understanding that he would never be held by her again, Only knowing that something bad was happening, and that the tall man was the cause of it.

Once again, the man pointed his wand at the child, and whispered, "So young, and yet, such a threat, I regret I must do this, but you stand between me and immortality. Therefore you must die." And with that, the man intoned the two words that had ended the lives of thousands of wizards and witches throughout time. However, this time something different happened, the spell left his wand and flew toward the boy, but suddenly, a solid seeming shield the color of quicksilver appeared between the boy and the death spell, which reflected off the shield, shattering it. The tall man had only enough time to flinch and gasp before the spell hit him full in the face. It was pain beyond imagining, more painful even then the experiences of all of the dark rituals combined he had used to attain his greater power. The figures soul, what was left of it, was ripped violently from his body, and cast into the ether of magic that surrounded all things.

Dumbledore was sitting in his office, anticipating what would happen later that night. The only other things in the room with him were a candle, a table, the chair he sat in, and two spindly little instruments that sat very still on their points, like toy tops the muggles used. The two instruments were connected to two wards that he himself had cast, one surrounding the Potter home at Godrics Hollow, and one surrounding the home of the one year old Neville Longbottom in the West Country. His suspicions that it would be tonight were confirmed when the instrument connected to the wards on the Potter home began to spin on its point and emit a shrill whistle. Standing, the headmaster swept from the room until he was outside the school wards, once he was, he apparated to the front of the Potter home and then waited.

He watched, hidden from sight by long shadows cast by inadequate lighting from the street lamps, as a green light claimed the life of first James Potter, than his wife. A solitary tear made its way down the old headmaster's face as he was forced to watch two people he counted as good friends be sacrificed for the greater good. He wished this didn't have to happen, but he had to know, which boy was the one spoken of in the prophesy. Suddenly green light was seen once again from the house, and as Dumbledore realized what was happening and had begun to run for the door, there came a shriek of agony that told of pain beyond the scope of anything a mortal could possibly withstand. As Dumbledore climbed the stairs to the second level, he was surprised to hear the sound of a young boy wailing coming from what he knew to be Harry's room. 'No, it can't be' the headmaster thought, the idea that a one year old boy could survive a curse that had ended the lives of wizards tens if to hundreds of times more powerful than him was ludicrous.

But there before him was the evidence in that Harry Potter, the one year old son of James and Lily Potter was not lying silent and dead in his cot. He was in fact screaming at the top of his lungs due to the fact that there was a huge gash across his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt, which was leaking blood of a darker hue than normal blood. Moving closer, Dumbledore waved his wand over the babe, testing him for evidence of possession, or what would be even more troubling, the presence of an alien soul in the boy's scar. Dumbledore gave a huge sigh of relief when both scans came up negative, but now he had a different problem, what to do with the boy. Dumbledore's brow crinkled in thought, he had two options now: one, he could take a gamble and assume that Lily had used an old light soul ritual to protect her son and leave Harry with his last remaining relatives, the Dursleys, using Lily's sacrifice, Dumbledore could establish blood wards around the house that would protect Harry better than anything. But that was risky; if Harry had survived some other way then Dumbledore would essentially be leaving Harry completely defenseless as the Dursleys were muggles.

His only other option would be to take Harry with him and raise him at Hogwarts, where he would be protected by the castles ancient wards, and by the headmaster's power. The more Dumbledore thought about it, the more the second option made sense, if he kept Harry at Hogwarts, he could control every aspect of the boy's life from a young age, who he interacted with, what he learned, how he reacted to situations. I short, Dumbledore could turn Harry into the perfect savior, the perfect killer, the perfect soldier.

Decision made, Dumbledore gathered Harry up in his arms and waved his wand over the boy, casting a healing charm on the cut on his head, which healed instantly leaving a long thin scar behind. Then he waved his wand over the child once more and whispered a sleeping charm, immediately Harry fell into a deep restful sleep. With that Dumbledore walked out of the house at Godrics Hollow. Once he was beyond the wards that protected the now uninhabited property, Dumbledore turned on the spot and apparated away to Hogwarts. Upon arrival, he made his way up to his office, careful not be seen by any of the other teachers, or Filch. Entering his office, Dumbledore walked straight into his private quarters and conjured a crib for Harry. Dumbledore then set Harry down in it so he could sleep, and looking at the boy, felt sadness in his heart for what he would have to do to the boy. His only chance of survival against Tom if he ever came back was if he was hard and ruthless, a soldier with nothing to lose, and everything to gain. He didn't want to do this, but the greater good demanded it, someone had to stand against Voldemort, and Dumbledore's time was approaching, Voldemort was very nearly equal to him in power before tonight, the only thing that saved Dumbledore recently was his greater knowledge of spells and greater experience. But when Voldemort returned, Dumbledore was sure he would be even stronger than he was now. Harry could have no friends, friends would be a distraction, and something that could be used against him, he could have no parental figures, if they were to die, Harry's psyche could be negatively affected, above all, Harry could not feel important, the boy would have to understand, as all soldiers understood, that if your name came up, and you were called for duty, even if it was for a suicide mission, you had to answer the call. Dumbledore would not strip his self-worth completely, but Harry would have to understand that sacrifices had to be made.

Just another reason he could have no friends, and no parental figures, he had to be alone.

All these thoughts and more flew through the headmasters mind, and he looked one more time at the son of two of his best friends and Dumbledore whispered "James, Lily, forgive me, but it has to be done. For the Wizarding World, it must be done. With that Dumbledore turned away to start making plans for Harry training regimen, it would have to begin immediately so Harry was ready in time for when he was needed.

**Warning, long but informative authors note, skip it if you don't care.**

**AN: Ok, here's the deal:**

**Salvation- this story is finished, I'm going to be writing the sequel soon, but you won't see anything for a while as I'm actually going to be prewriting most the chapters before I publish this time, that way there is a more consistent update rate.**

**Sacrifice and Redemption- help me out here guys, I got some ok reviews, but what feels like many more flames than anything else, and this story didn't really have a huge following to be honest. I'll admit, I screwed up Gabrielle's interaction with her mom pretty badly, all I need to know is should I even try to fix it, or just take it down? Leave your answer in the review, or pm me, which ever you prefer. After two or three weeks I'll tally the votes and make a decision.**

**Boy Soldier- This story will have sporadic updates, essentially this will be my test case for new ideas I have like Sacrifice and Redemption was. Let me know what you liked and disliked, but try to do it without flaming me please…**

**Oh, by the way, this is unbetaed, anyone who would be interested in betaing for me just send me a pm.**

**Till next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not claim, nor have I ever tried to claim Harry Potter as mine, there's your disclaimer.**

**Warning: This story is AU, characters will act OOC, and there may be other warnings latter in other chapters that I will add in as I go. This will be a Harry/Hermione ship. Dumbledore will be manipulative but not evil, from a point of view. May be bashing of some Weasleys, haven't decided yet. I think that pretty much covers everything…**

Cah11 humbly presents:

**Boy Soldier**

**Chapter 1: Thoughts and Questions**

**Hogwarts, 1****st**** September 1992**

**Hermione Grangers POV**

Hermione was nervous, it had only been 3 weeks since a strange women had showed up at her house and told her family the reason for all the strange occurrences around their daughter was because she was a wand waving, broomstick riding, potion making witch. Her parents had not believed it at first, thinking that the crazy women was there talking about a boarding school because she was trying to scam them. However they were quickly proven wrong when the women, who had identified herself as Professor McGonagall, drew a wand from her robes, and turned their sitting room table into a pig, and then back again. Hermione had been excited to learn why strange things kept happening around her; at least it meant it wasn't because she was cursed with bad luck or something, it just meant she was different from most of the other children she knew.

All of this led to her now standing in a line composed of around 40 other kids her age, all of whom apparently had magic as well, and waiting for some unknown test to take place to decide which house she would spend the next seven years in. The boy in front of her, Neville she remembered his name being, turned and asked her, "What house do you think you will be in?" He looked rather apprehensive.

Hermione thought about it for a few seconds and then replied, "Well, I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad, I do enjoy learning, and it would be nice to have an intellectually stimulating conversation with someone else who knows what I'm going through, me being muggleborn and all. Of course, Gryffindor wouldn't be terrible either, although I don't think I'm foolhardy enough to be a lion. Hufflepuff wouldn't be bad, but I've always been a little on the solitary side, so I might not fit in as well. The only house I really couldn't see myself in is Slytherin, but that's just because it's mostly stuck up purebloods from what I've heard."

"Wow, you've got this whole thing figured out then don't you?" Neville said with wide eyes.

Hermione shrugged, "Like I said, I love to learn, as soon as I found out what I was and where I was going I decided to find out as much about it as possible. What house do you think you'll be in?"

Neville looked down and flushed a little saying, "I'm not sure, I suppose Hufflepuff, I can't really see myself in any other house, not Gryffindor, I'm not brave. I won't go to Ravenclaw, I'm not a real book person, and there is no way in hell I'm going to Slytherin, everyone knows that the Longbottoms are some of the biggest supporters of muggle rights outside of the Weasleys."

"Well that's not really a bad thing Neville." Hermione said consolingly, "At least in Hufflepuff, you know you'll have friends."

"Riiiiight, because someone would really want to be friends with a near squib." Came a drawling voice from Hermione's left. Turning Hermione saw a pale blond boy with fancy looking robes, and a sneer that reminded her unpleasantly of the girls and boys that used to torment her back in primary school.

"Excuse me, but I don't believe either of us invited you into this conversation, let alone asked for your opinion." Hermione said coldly, "So why don't you just mind your own business."

The boy's eyes narrowed, while Neville shrunk away from Hermione seeming to not want to catch flak for being near her during the confrontation. "Seeing how you don't seem to know who I am, you must be a mudblood, for your information, I am a Malfoy, and my family has so much money I could buy you as a slave right now, and there would be nothing you could do about it."

Hermione looked disgusted and said, "I very much doubt that, slavery isn't allowed in the Wizarding world except in a few select circumstances, and all of them usually involve the repayment of family debts, since I am muggleborn, my family owes you no debts, and neither do I, so shove off."

Draco sent one last sneer her way before turning and walking away, saying "Watch yourself mudblood, or you may find yourself indebted to the house of Malfoy before you know it"

'In your dreams.' Hermione thought, 'I'll drop out of Hogwarts before I borrow so much as a knut from you.'

Turning back to Neville, Hermione noticed that he was very pale and seemed to be looking at her in fear and awe. "What?" Hermione asked, wondering if she had something on her face or something.

Neville took a deep breath and "That was one of the bravest things I have ever seen, not many people are willing to stand up to the Malfoy Family, because of how rich they are, only a few families are higher in status then them, and those are the Most Ancient and Noble Houses, so they tend to be rather distant with the rest of society socially, the only times they are really seen is if they have a kid at Hogwarts, or if the Wizengamot is preparing to vote on a matter of national importance."

"Hmm, sounds like they might be even more stuck up then the Malfoys." Hermione said disgustedly

Neville shook his head, "Not really, it's more an issue of security then anything, they have the most power of any other family in Britain so of course, everyone wants a piece of it. The last time members of a Most Ancient and Nobel Family tried to mix with wizards of normal standing, they got murdered in the middle of the night by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, well almost all of them got murdered, one survived though, Harry Potter. He survived a direct hit from the killing curse, only problem is, no one can find him now, He disappeared the night his parents died."

At that moment, Professor McGonagall came back into the side chamber where they had been standing for nearly ten minutes and said "We are ready now, please follow me." With that, the group of first year students began to march behind the Professor into a huge dining hall that had four long tables, thousands of candles floating in mid-air, and a ceiling that appeared charmed to look like the sky above.

Once the group of first years had arrived at the back of the hall, in front of the staff table, McGonagall told them to wait before moving up and placing a stool with a patched and frayed hat on it in front of the new students. Nothing happened for a moment, then a rip near the brim opened and the hat began to sing.

"_Oh you may not think I'm pretty but don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat then me,_

_You can keep your bowlers black; you top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all,_

_There's nothing in your head the sorting hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be,_

_You might belong in Gryffindor where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring nerve and chivalry set Gryffindor's apart,_

_Or you might belong in Hufflepuff where they are just and loyal,_

_Those faithful Hufflepuff are true, and unafraid of toil,_

_Or you might belong in Ravenclaw if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning will always find their kind,_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin, where you'll find your real friends, _

_Those cunning folk will use any means to achieve their ends,_

_So put me on, don't be afraid, and don't get in a flap, _

_You're in safe hands, though I have none, for I'm a thinking cap."_

The whole hall burst into applause as the Hat finished its song, bowing to the four house tables before becoming still again. "We just have to try on the hat?" Neville asked incredulously, "My friend Ron kept going on and on about how his brothers told him we were going to have to wrestle a troll, this is going to be a piece of cake.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the thought of first years being expected to wrestle a full grown troll, but didn't say anything to Neville, as she didn't want to alienate her only friend.

Hermione watched the sorting with an air of detached interest; she wondered what house she was going to be living in for the next 7 years of her life. As her eyes swept the hall, they came to rest on what appeared to be a table that was situated behind the staff table, placed so that it was mostly covered in shadow. As Hermione continued to look at it, wondering why it was there, she suddenly saw movement, and realized that there was someone sitting at the table. Upon closer scrutiny she discovered that the figure appeared to be a young boy, possibly about her age, who was sitting alone by himself watching the sorting.

'I wonder why he isn't in line with the rest of us, and why he is seated alone. Maybe he misbehaved on the train, and this is his punishment, to eat alone and be sorted after the feast?'

Whatever the case may be, Hermione suddenly heard her name called by the Deputy Headmistress, and like every other firsty had that night, walked up to the stool that had the sorting hat resting on it. As she sat down, she felt the boy's gaze on her, causing her to look around. She found herself staring into green colored eyes that looked at her with a look she had not seen before, the closest she could akin it to was the stern look her mother gave her after she had done something wrong, but that wasn't quite right either.

Then suddenly she felt the sorting hat fall on her head, and she was plunged into darkness as the huge hat seemed to devour her head whole. After a few moments she heard a voice in her head say. _"Ah yes, I see plenty of wit, and a fast mind we have here, Ravenclaw would certainly help you develop into a veritable fountain of knowledge. But you are also very loyal to those you call your friends, though you may have few at present that would certainly change in Hufflepuff. Oh, but what have we here a lick of courage and a well-developed sense of right and wrong, although not as foolhardy as the usual lion, you would still do well in Gryffindor. And what's this, is that a small spot of cunning and ambition I see here in the back of your mind? It's not large now, but it could definitely be nurtured into a dominating trait if you were to be placed in Slytherin. Hmmm, most difficult, you display traits seen favorably by all the founders not merely one or two, oh I haven't had this big a challenge sorting someone in a long time."_

It was weird, but the hat almost seemed happy that Hermione seemed hard to sort. _"Of course I'm excited dear, after nearly a thousand years of doing nothing but sorting firsties who all are no challenge at all to sort into houses; it's refreshing to come across a difficult one every now and again. Now where should I put you?"_

"_Well,"_ Hermione thought back to the hat, "_I wouldn't be too sure that I would do well in Slytherin, I've heard most of that house is a bunch of bigoted slime balls, I doubt my cunning and ambition would grow if it got stomped out of me in my first year."_

"_Hmmm, true."_ The sorting hat replied, _"Perhaps not Slytherin then, what of Gryffindor?"_

"_Not really my style,"_ Hermione replied dryly, _"I'm not big into the whole 'rush in without thinking' bit that seems to be the dominating trait of that house."_

"_Yes, now that I think about it, Gryffindor wouldn't be the best place to put you, not the worst, but not the best, and Hufflepuff?"_

"_I'm not really the trusting type, I've been hurt too many times before to really fit the bill for Hufflepuff completely."_

"_Well then, you certainly have the thirst for knowledge required in every,_ Ravenclaw!" The last word was shouted for the whole hall to hear, and the table in blue began to cheer loudly as Hermione jumped down from, then place that hat back on the stool.

As she took her seat, Hermione turned back to look at the front of the hall where the head table, and the table behind it was situated. She noticed that the young boy sitting at the table was watching the rest of the sorting, but every now and then would turn to find her at the Ravenclaw table. Finally Hermione managed to catch his eye, the boy held her gaze for a moment, then gave a small smile and a nod, before turning to watch the last first year, a Ronald Weasley, be sorted into Gryffindor. Hermione was intrigued, the boy did not act like this was some kind of punishment, rather he acted like this was the normal routine. Turning to the student next to her, she noticed the girl was older, and had a prefect badge on her robes, perfect.

"Excuse me, do you know who that boy is sitting up there behind the teachers table?"

"Oh, him, well no one is really sure who he is, he showed up at the opening feast my first year, and the Headmaster told us all that he was his apprentice, and that he would be eating with us on occasion, and that he would sometimes attend classes with us, but that we were not to bother him if we saw him in the halls or in classes. Other than that, no one knows his name, how old he is, or even if he was sorted into a house, all we know is that he is crazy smart, smarter than even some of us Claws, and that he's not very social, he never talks to anyone that I have seen, and if he walks by you in the halls, he may nod to you but that's about it. it's too bad really, he's quite cute, I would be all over him if he were a few years older then what he looks to be." The last comment was said with a slightly dreamy expression appearing on the older girls face.

'Well, that's not really much to go on.' Hermione thought. 'Maybe I can try to talk to him in a hall when he passes, and hope he doesn't decide he feels bothered by it.'

**Alright, we've got all the major characters introduced now, let the fun begin! Next chapter will include some backstory on what Harry has been up to during that 11 year blank spot between the first chapter and this one. Also, sorry this has taken so long in coming out, but I'm kinda one of those writers that like to write whenever the muse hits me right, and I get the creative juices going for a while before it all just kinda leaves me high and dry. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and there is definitely more to come.**

**To those that have been wondering when the sequel to Salvation will be coming out, again I say be patient it will be posted when I have all my ideas mapped out, it is taking a while because I definitely want to do the story justice considering how many followers it has.**


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